Three undergraduate programmes in the School of Information Management gained CILIP international accreditation

Last updated :2017-07-12

Source: School of Information Management
Written by: School of Information Management
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On June 29, 2017, after more than 6 months of intensive preparation, the three undergraduate programmes in Library Science, Archival Science and Information Management & Information Systems from the School of Information Management at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) have successfully obtained CILIP accreditation.

CILIP stands for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. It is based in London and is one of the world’s oldest professional institutes for librarians. It is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the UK and has a strong international reputation.

On June 28 and 29, 2017, two CILIP representatives, Helen Berry and Graham Bulpitt, visited the School of Information Management and performed a two-day programme inspection for the purposes of CILIP accreditation. After assessing the teaching materials of the three programmes, talking with student representatives, visiting the University’s Teaching Affairs Office, and inspecting the School’s teaching labs, the CILIP representatives agreed that our undergraduate programmes in Library Science, Archival Science and Information Management & Information Systems should be accredited by CILIP.

Because the accreditation was agreed before the University’s graduation ceremony on June 30, our graduates this year will all be able to enjoy the benefits of CILIP accreditation, i.e. they can become members of CILIP and will be eligible to work towards full professional membership. CILIP membership is greatly appreciated by employers in the fields of library and information science internationally, especially in countries like the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand; it will also be helpful to students wanting to apply for postgraduate courses overseas.

Group photo of the CILIP working team (comprising representatives from SYSU iSchool and CILIP)

The School of Information Management of Sun Yat-sen University is the first and only iSchool in Mainland China to be accredited by CILIP. This is an important milestone in the internationalization process of our school, and provides a solid foundation for future international exchanges and cooperation between our School and iSchools in international universities.

Dean and Professor in Information Management, Professor Miguel Nunes said, “I would like to state how pleased and proud we are that our courses are recognised at a level that is similar and compatible with those in the UK and internationally”.